Fighting For Alyssa

Alyssa Apostolakis was full of life with an amazing will to live. In spite of all the beauty in her life, she, like countless others was unable to fight an evil temptation known as heroin.

Here is Alyssa’s Story:

Alyssa was born on February 13, 1994. She was a bright and beautiful girl that shared her love, laughter, and compassion with everyone she met. Her smile would light up a room and her laughter would fill it.

Alyssa grew up in Medina, Ohio attending Christian and Catholic elementary schools. She attended Medina High School and graduated from a private school in North Carolina. She continued to further her education attending Warren Wilson College and AB Tech, both located in Asheville, North Carolina.

Alyssa had immense talent in artistic endeavors. She was very gifted in writing, drawing, photography and painting and was an avid connoisseur of all types of music.

During adolescence, Alyssa, like many other young people, suffered injuries such as a broken arm and leg. She also had multiple oral surgeries which necessitated medical treatment and was prescribed pain medication by a physician. As a result of the chemical composition of her brain combined with the addictive component of pain medication, Alyssa was predisposed to opiate addiction.

During Alyssa’s first year at Warren Wilson College she was introduced to heroin by her then boyfriend who had also become addicted to opiates from the use of pain medication prescribed to treat sports injuries. Despite attending numerous rehabilitation facilities, Alyssa’s addiction remained.

As a result of her heroin addiction, Alyssa was fighting a daily battle to maintain her sobriety and avoid the whispers in her ears to use heroin. Tragically, Alyssa lost her battle with heroin on March 18, 2015, passing away in her room - alone. She was only 21 years old.